GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University softball team will continue an 8-game road swing when they head to Colorado Springs to face the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions in a key 4-game series at Mountain Lion Field.
Due to weather forecasts in southern Colorado, the series has been pushed back a day and is now scheduled for a Sunday/Monday format with doubleheaders beginning at noon on Sunday and 11 a.m. on Monday.
The Mavs, 11-7 overall, will enter the weekend in third place in the RMAC standings at 9-3, just a game ahead of the Mountain Lions (11-10, 8-4 RMAC) and Regis, which is 12-10 overall.
All four games of the series can be seen on the
RMAC Network and
live statistics can be accessed here.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks went through the ringer of emotions in a 4-game series against defending RMAC Champion and National Poll No. 9 Colorado Christian last weekend. The Mavs won the last game of the series on Sunday, 5-4, and were one out away from a victory in the series-opener on Saturday as the Cougars came from as much as 6-0 down to win 8-7 in walk-off fashion thanks to a 3-run seventh inning.
The Mavs also dropped a 16-6 mercy-rule decision on Saturday before dropping the first game of Sunday's doubleheader 10-7 as the lead changed three times in a back-and-forth affair.
The Mavericks hit seven home runs throughout the series and conceded the same total.
Myah Arrieta hit two of those for the Mavs and went 4-for-12 with six runs scored, two walks and five RBIs. She also had a .467 on-base percentage and .917 slugging percentage.
Chloe Valdez also hit two home runs, going long in both games of Saturday's doubleheader, as did
Miranda Pruitt, who now leads the Mavs with a team-leading six on the season.
Preslee Christensen pitched in all four games, striking out nine in 11 2/3 innings of work, against the RMAC's top offense.
Complete recaps of both doubleheaders can be found at the links below.
Sluggers
The Mavericks have hit a RMAC-leading 26 home runs in their first 18 games and now rank sixth in the national statistics for home runs per game (1.44). They are 12
th in total home runs. Nine different Maverick players have hit them, with
Miranda Pruitt pacing the Mavs with six. She is tied for second in the RMAC with that total and is just one shy of Colorado Christian's Kenzie Middleton for a share of the RMAC lead.
Meanwhile,
Myah Arrieta and
Ally Distler are tied with others for fifth in the RMAC dinger total at four.
Slugging streak
The Mavs have hit at least one home run in all 12 of their RMAC contests and in 14 straight overall games since and including their two games on Feb. 4. They went without a home run in their first four games of the season.
Oh My(ah)
After missing the final month and 23 games of last season due to injury, Maverick junior
Myah Arrieta has been on a tear in her return. Arrieta is leading the regular Mav starters with her .396 batting average, .792 slugging percentage and .492 on-base percentage. She is third in the conference for slugging percentage and ninth for on-base percentage, helping her also rank third in OPS (On Base + Slugging Percentage) at 1.284.
She also paces the Mavericks in total hits (21) and extra-base hits and is third on the team with 13 RBIs despite playing in the lead-off spot in 13 of the Mavs' 18 games.
Reaching Safely
Myah Arreita and
Ally Distler have both reached safely in 16 consecutive games entering this weekend. Distler also had a 12-game hitting streak that was stopped on Sunday, when she went 0-for-2 in the last game of the Colorado Christian series. Distler did have a walk and a sacrifice fly in that game.
Meanwhile,
Ava Fugate will carry active 7-game hitting and 8-game reached safely streaks into the series with the Mountain Lions.
Home Sweet Home
The CMU Softball Stadium has proven to be a fortress for the Mavericks and a house of horrors for opposing squads in recent years, which was again the case in the Mavs' lone home series of the year to date.
After the series sweep of Mines on Feb. 24-25, the Mavs have won 176 of their 208 home games over the last nearly ten seasons, good for a winning percentage of .846.
They were a perfect 24-0 at home back in 2017 and have recorded 20 or more home wins in six of their last seven full seasons, a streak that was snapped last year, when CMU went 15-9 at home.
Here's a look at the Mavericks' home-field records over the last ten seasons.
2015- 18-2
2016- 17-5
2017- 24-0
2018- 22-5
2019-24-4
2020*- 6-2
2021-23-2
2022- 23-3
2023- 15-9
2004 (current)- 4-0
The Boss
Head Coach Mercedes Bohte, a member of the Maverick coaching staff since 2013, is now in her fourth season in charge of the program and currently has a 127-44 (.742) career record and winning percentage as the leader of the program. The Mavericks have also won 81.9 percent (104-23) of their 123 RMAC games under her tutelage.
She picked up her 100
th RMAC win in the first game of the series sweep against Mines on Feb. 23.
In 2021, while serving as the program's interim coach, Bohte, led the Mavericks to a 39-5 overall record, good for an .886 winning percentage, which was the best in Division II softball. She was named as the RMAC Coach of the Year for her efforts and then had the interim tag removed over the summer of 2021. Under her direction in that year, the Mavericks went 34-2 in RMAC play to win the RMAC's regular season title. They also claimed the RMAC Tournament crown and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
In 2022, the Mavericks were just as successful going 45-9 overall and 35-3 in RMAC play, clinching a sixth consecutive RMAC Regular Season title on the final day of the regular season.
They then went 32-23 overall and 26-15 in RMAC play last year while advancing to the RMAC Tournament final for the second time in Bohte's three years.
Maverick players have combined to win 22 All-RMAC honors in Bohte's three previous years, including 12 first team picks. Seven of those honors came in 2023.
She has also guided players to a combined five all-America honors from the NFCA and D2CCA. The Mavs have combined to garner 19 all-region honors from those two organizations in her three previous years.
Bohte's 2022 team had eight overall All-RMAC picks, including six first team selections. The Mavericks also laid claim to the RMAC Player of the Year in
Ashley Bradford, later named as a Second Team D2CCA All-American, and the RMAC Pitcher of the Year in repeat selection Paige Adair.
The Mavs also won the NCAA statistical titles for home runs (100) and slugging percentage (.646) and set a school-record for team ERA (1.63), the sixth best mark in all of Division II softball.
In Bohte's first season (2021), the Mavericks also had seven overall and four First Team All-RMAC honorees. The Mavs led the country in scoring (8.95 runs per game) that year and had a pair of consensus first team all-Americans in Ellie Smith and Lauren Wedman.
In her time on the coaching staff, which goes back to 2013, the Mavericks have won seven RMAC Championships and have qualified for five NCAA Tournaments. As the team's pitching coach, her staffs have led the RMAC in ERA during seven straight seasons from 2016-22, including in 2021 and 2022, when she guided 2-time RMAC Pitcher of the Year Paige Adair, who set a new single-season record for individual ERA (1.30) in 2023. Adair, now the head coach at Fort Lewis, also became the first Maverick to earn D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year plaudits.
In her time as the Mavs' pitching coach, Bohte has guided pitchers to 15 All-RMAC and 11 all-region honors, a group led by Adair, McKenzie Surface, the RMAC's all-time winningest pitcher and 2017 RMAC Co-Pitcher of the Year, 2019 RMAC Pitcher of the Year Kimbri Herring.
About the Mountain Lions
The Mountain Lions have yet to lose a RMAC series this season, splitting a 4-game series at Chadron State last Friday and Saturday after winning three of four in their first two home series against New Mexico Highlands and Black Hills State.
Currently, 11-10 overall and 8-4 in RMAC play, they are hitting .288 as team to rank seventh in the RMAC, just one spot ahead of the Mavs, who are hitting .282.
Jacqueline Berkowitz ranks fifth in the conference for batting average at .455, but has just 33 at bats in 17 games and 11 starts. Every day starter Gianna Pancost is tenth at .426 and has six doubles to her credit.
Hailey Busshart has hit three of the Mountain Lions' eight home runs and also leads the team with ten RBIs while slugging .460. She also has drawn ten walks and has a .377 on-base percentage, 137 points higher than her .240 batting average, which has been lowered by 16 strikeouts.
The Mountain Lions have been aggressive on the base paths and have stolen 26 bases as a team, but have also been caught ten times.
Autumn Kunze has led the Mountain Lion pitching staff, making ten starts while posting a 6-3 record and 2.86 ERA. She has completed seven games and has two shutouts and has recorded 45 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings. She has allowed 63 hits, including six home runs, but just 13 walks. Kailey Bond also has a solid 4-2 record and 3.18 ERA in nine appearances, four of which she was the starter. She has 23 strikeouts and two complete games.
The Mountain Lions' head coach is Dwight Sanders, who is in his first year with the Mountain Lions after spending two seasons at Fort Lewis, where he went 41-41 in RMAC play and 43-57 overall.
Series History
The Mavericks hold an 87-35 all-time series lead over UCCS and have won the 11 last match-ups since Apr. 18, 2021. The Mavs have also won 33 of the last 35 games in the rivalry since 2014.
They swept a home series with the Mountain Lions last season (Mar. 18-19), recording three shutouts while outscoring the Mountain Lions, 25-3.
They also swept an away series at UCCS on Apr. 15-16, 2022 before winning a fifth game of the season over the Mountain Lions during the RMAC Tournament on May 6.
UCCS' last win over the Mavs came on Apr. 17, 2021 in Grand Junction during a series, the Mavs won 3-1.
The Mavs are 32-17 against the Mountain Lions in Colorado Springs and have not lost there in 12 years, when they won 3 of 4 games during a 2012 series.
Up Next
The Mavericks will return home for just the second time this season when they take on Adams State University next Saturday and Sunday (Mar. 16-17). The Grizzlies are currently 3-18 overall and 1-11 in RMAC play heading into a weekend series at Black Hills State.
